Hope on the racks: a L.A. Fashion District couple fights to keep their dress shops alive after ICE raids

A year after ICE raids hit L.A.’s Fashion District, Salvadoran couple Joel Galvez and Leanor Torres struggle to keep their two dress shops afloat as sales plummet (from about 50 dresses on Saturdays to ~10), rent climbs (~$11,000/month), and debt balloons (roughly $20,000 to $150,000) while fear of deportations and new raids unsettles customers; the disruption also reverberates through nearby vendors, yet the pair persist and cling to hope for recovery.